dealership

Etymology

It is formed from English dealer + -ship.^[2][3][4] Dealer goes back to Old English dǣlere (“divider, distributor; agent”), an agent noun from the verb deal.^[4][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The position, business or privileges of a dealer; an authorized trading business: 1916, in W. P. Werheim's chapter in Sales Promotion by Mail.^[2][5][3] Dictionary.com dates it to 1915–20.^[4]

Semantic evolution

The word builds on the sense of dealer as a person whose business is buying and selling goods, recorded from the 1610s.^[3] Etymonline defines dealership as the business of an authorized trader,^[3] and Merriam-Webster as an authorized sales agency, such as one selling cars.^[5]

Timeline

• 1610s – dealer, a person who buys and sells goods.^[3]
• 1916 – dealership, the business or position of an authorized dealer.^[2][5][3]

Meanings

Noun

1. A business authorized to sell the products of a particular maker, especially cars: She bought her truck at a dealership outside town.^[5][2]
2. The position, rights or business of a dealer; a franchise to sell a product.^[2][5]

Related words

• dealer
• deal

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
5. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster